An Expensive Hat and Potato Fennel Gratin

"The first thing needed in wearing a hat is confidence.  Another good rule of thumb is that it pays to get an expensive hat.  I know that sounds crazy, but be prepared to spend several hundred dollars and get a hat that you absolutely love, a well-made hat, and keep your entire silhouette in mind."

Great advice from Norma Shephard, director of the Mobile Millinery Museum.  An expensive hat, especially if it has been made for you, will be the most flattering, because it will fit perfectly and everything will have been considered.  And it will look expensive.  You will feel beautiful and be complimented every time you wear it.

Of course, you may have to eat potatoes for a week after investing in the hat.  One inexpensive and tasty dish is potato and fennel gratin.  I put only fresh goat cheese in the bechamel sauce, so it is light for a potato dish.

Potato Fennel Gratin

serves 4 people


3 med-large russet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced 1/4" thick on a mandolin.
1 small fennel bulb, sliced thin
2 tbs. olive oil
4 tbs. butter
3 tbs. rice flour
2 cups milk
4 oz. fresh goat cheese, mixed with zest and juice of 1 lemon, 2 tbs. olive oil, 1 tbs. chopped thyme leaves and a pinch of sea salt
2 tbs. chopped fennel fronds
1 cup freshly grated Parmagiano Reggiano


Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees


Boil the potato slices in salted water for 5 minutes until they start to feel tender.  Drain and set aside to cool.


Sauté the sliced fennel in the olive oil and 2 tbs. butter over a medium flame, cover to wilt, when soft, turn up the heat and cook until caramelized, stirring frequently.


Butter a ceramic baking dish.  Put a layer of overlapping potatoes in the bottom of the dish, lightly salt.  Spread over half of the fennel.  Another layer of potato, rest of the fennel and the last potato layer.

Make a bechamel sauce by cooking together the flour and 2 tbs. of butter for a couple of minutes in a small saucepan.  Add the milk and whisk frequently until the sauce thickens.  When it coats the spoon, turn off the heat and add the goat cheese mixture.  Stir until it melts, pour over the potatoes.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, uncover, sprinkle on the Paramagiano Reggiano. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden browned and bubbly.

Let cool a bit before serving with some pea shoots, roasted peppers or a green salad.  It doesn't look or taste like an inexpensive meal. 

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